Data archiving systems may use shortcuts to manage the size of a data source such as, for example, email data. Archiving may allow a portion of a data source (e.g., older data) to be archived, which may remove the data from the data source. A shortcut (e.g., a link, a url, or other computer navigable reference) may be placed in the data source. The shortcut may provide a navigable reference for a user to retrieve data from an archiving system if desired or necessary. The shortcut may also provide information about the archived data such as, for example, a subject, an extract of the archived data, a message header, and/or attributes associated with the archived data. Thus, a shortcut may allow an archival system to remove data without removing access to the data.
A tradeoff exists, however, between the amount of information provided by a shortcut and the size of the shortcut. Too little information may make archived data harder to find or may result in a user unnecessarily retrieving archived data to verify information. Too much information in a shortcut may reduce the space savings offered by the shortcut and add to the amount of storage required for the data source. Shortcuts for data sources such as email systems can use significant storage. Inefficient storage management of shortcuts may result in a requirement for extra storage space for a data source, deletion of shortcuts earlier than may be desirable, and other problems.
In view of the foregoing, it may be understood that there may be significant problems and shortcomings associated with current techniques for archiving data.